Board of Nursing

Georgia Roberts, Program Director

Consumer Protection is our Mission.

The State Board of Nursing is responsible for enforcing statutes, rules and policies as promulgated by the Nurse Practice Act, Nurse Aide Practice Act and the Licensed Psychiatric Technician Practice Act. The Board has staff overseeing education, licensing and enforcement of nurses, nurse aides and licensed psychiatric technicians. The State Board of Nursing oversees over 110,000 licensees. Colorado is a member of the Nurse Licensure Compact which allows nurses to practice in the state of Colorado on their home state privilege.

News Items

NCSBN invites public comment on the draft of its first standard

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) has developed a draft of its first standard, involving criminal background checks for applicants for nurse licensure. The public is invited to view and comment on the draft standard at the following website : nscbn.org/standards-development.htm

You may be a Mandatory Reporter!

On May 16, 2013, Senate Bill 13-111 was signed by the Governor requiring the mandatory reporting of the abuse of at-risk adults. This law was further modified in 2014 and signed by the Governor on April 7, 2014 via Senate Bill 14-098. This law requires that beginning on July 1, 2014 all individuals listed as mandatory reporters must report suspected physical or sexual abuse, exploitation, and caretaker neglect to law enforcement within 24 hours of the observation of the mistreatment.

Click here for more information on the Healthcare Professions Profile Program.

PDMP Registration for DEA-registered Advanced Practice Nurses

Pursuant to House Bill 14-1283 (now CRS 12-42.5-403), all Colorado licensed prescribing practitioners who possess an individual DEA registration and all Colorado licensed pharmacists are required to register an individual user account with Colorado's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). To this end, the Director of the Division of Professions and Occupations has assigned the following due dates for each corresponding profession for this purpose.

While all pharmacists and DEA-registered prescribing practitioners may and are certainly encouraged to register a user account with the PDMP at anytime between now and before September 30th, these are the respective due dates for each profession.

To begin this process, please utilize the following link for more information about the PDMP and to begin creating a PDMP account.

While account creation normally takes less than 5 minutes, should you have questions regarding how to register a PDMP account, please contact the PDMP Help Desk at 1-855-263-6403.

Board Adopts New Opioid Policy

The Board adopted a new policy for the Prescribing and Dispensing of Opioids, part of a collaborative effort with the Quad-Regulator Boards as one part of a statewide solution to reduce prescription drug abuse and misuse. The Quad-Regulator Boards include the Colorado Medical Board, the Colorado State Board of Nursing, the Colorado Board of Pharmacy, and the Colorado State Board of Dental Examiners, facilitated by the Nurse-Physician Advisory Task Force for Colorado Healthcare (NPATCH). Other boards that license prescribers of controlled substances also adopted the policy including the State Board of Optometry and the Colorado Podiatry Board while the State Board of Veterinary Medicine endorsed the policy.

The development of a joint policy by multiple regulatory boards is a first. For that reason, the policy was drafted through an open process that allowed for full consideration of stakeholder views through multiple public meetings from February to July 2014.

To view the policy that was unanimously adopted by the Quad-Regulators and other boards, please click here.

Timeline for Quad-Regulator Opioid Policy

To provide guidance to prescribers and dispensers of opioids, the Quad-Regulator Boards at DORA are collaborating to draft a joint policy as one part of a statewide solution to reduce prescription drug abuse and misuse. The Quad-Regulator Boards include the Colorado Medical Board, the Colorado State Board of Nursing, the Colorado Board of Pharmacy, and the Colorado State Board of Dental Examiners, facilitated by the Nurse-Physician Advisory Task Force for Colorado Healthcare (NPATCH). The development of a joint policy by multiple regulatory boards is a first, so the Quad-Regulators are committed to an open process and timeline that allows for full consideration of stakeholder views.To view the policy that will be circulated for Board review and adoption, please click here. Comments and questions may be referred to Cory Everett at cory.everett@state.co.us.
PROCESS TIMELINE AS OF MAY 1, 2014

NCLEX Paperless

In an effort to improve both effectiveness and efficiency, the NCLEX will go “green” and transition to a completely paperless program. The list of current paper-based materials that will only be available electronically include:
• Authorization to Test (ATT) letter;
• NCLEX Examination Candidate Bulletin;
• “Eights Steps of the NCLEX” handout;
• Scan form registrations;
• Money order, certified check and cashier check payments; and
• “You’ve Completed the NCLEX but Still Have Questions” brochure.
Implementation for the paperless initiative will take place in the first quarter of 2014. Click here for more detailed information.

CNA Medication Aide Authority - New Examination Information

The Medication Aide Competency Examination has been updated effective March 1, 2014. There are changes to the test online, proctor locations, and examination fees.

Please visit the Pearson VUE website for more details: www.pearsonvue.com and navigate to the Colorado Nurse Aide page.

Are you renewing an Advanced Practice Nurse with authorities?

If so, as DORA’s Division of Professions and Occupations Licensing Services continues to improve your experience, please be aware that in the current renewal online process you must renew your license and each authority separately (i.e., advanced practice; RXN). Failure to do so will result in not timely being renewed; deemed as practicing outside of your approved license and/or authority; and subjects you to potential discipline. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience you may experience in this renewal process, but we are making strides to improve our service to our consumers.

Preceptorship and Mentorship

The Prescriptive Authority Application Instructions in section 12-38-111.6 of the Colorado Nurse Practice Act state the Preceptorship requirement as follows:

The preceptorship shall be conducted either (1) with a physician; or (2) a physician and an advanced practice nurse who has prescriptive authority and experience in prescribing medications. The physician and, if applicable, advanced practice nurse serving as a preceptor to the applicant shall be actively practicing in this state and shall have education, training, experience, and active practice that corresponds with the role and population focus of the applicant.

Tramadol is now a Schedule IV Controlled Substance.

Effective August 18, 2014, Tramadol will be classified as a Schedule IV Controlled Substance. Please read implications for prescribers and pharmacies here .

License Verification

Search Online Services
You may search ALISON to obtain information about licenses issued by the Division of Professions and Occupations.

NURSYS Verification (Nursys.com) - Free of Charge
Nursys.com contains data obtained directly from the licensure systems of participating boards of nursing. You may now verify licenses and receive a detailed report free of charge. The report will contain the name, jurisdiction, license type, license number, compact status (multistate/single state), license status, expiration date, discipline against the license and discipline against the privilege to practice of the RN or PN being verified.

Nurses requesting an official verification will complete the online Nursys verification process and pay the $30 per license type fee for each state board of nursing where an application for licensure is being submitted.

Nurse Licensure Compact
Licensure of a Registered Nurse or Licensed Practical/Vocational Nurse whose primary state of residence is a compact state other than Colorado may also be verified with the state of licensure. For a list of compact states with contact information, see Contacts for Nurse Licensure Compact.
The Nurse Licensure Compact requires that states clearly identify when a license is valid for practice only in the granting state. Licenses that are valid for practice only in Colorado are designated as ‘active single-state’ on the face of the license and also on ALISON. Licenses not identified as ‘single-state’ are multi-state (compact) licenses.

Legislation passed during the Legislative Session impacts the Division of Professions and Occupations. Please review the program's Laws, Rules and Policies web page to learn of any changes due to legislation.